Skip to main content

Full text of "The Shekel, vol. 44, no. 2, 2011"

See other formats 


Published by the American Israel Numismatic Association , Inc. 





The Shekel 

Volume XL1V No. l (Cons, no 236) 

March-April 2011 

ANDREW PERALA, EDITOR 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PRESIDENT'S message 

Escape from Libya 

By Mel l Macks and Andrew Perala 4 

The Coins of Jehovah 

By Howard Berlin. 1 1 

Calumny Coinage &the tax Acts of Nerva 

by Aaron kogon. 1 9 

1,000 Years in China 

BY MEL WACKS. 23 


Shanghai's Magnificent Medal... 28 


Israel Stuns world at Shanghai expo 

By Mel Wacks and Andrew Perala 30 

HARBINS DRAMATIC TOKEN 

BY ALEX BEN-ARIEH 36 

First Bullion Coins Issued 

by Shule Kopf, The Jerusalem Report. 40 

Oklahoma Token honors diversity. 47 

Profile: Vladimir Bernshtam 

by donna Sims. 48 




1 



American Israel 
Numismatic Association 

Website: www.theshekeLorg 


OFFICERS 

Mel Wacks, President 

Contact Mel via E-mail: ainapresident@gmail.com 
or call him: (818) 225-1348 
Josh Prottas, Vice-President 
Donna Sims, Treasurer 
Roger Merritt, Secretary 

GENERAL CONTACT 

Donna Sims, 

P.O. Box 20255, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269 
E-mail: dancin.donna@yahoo.com 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Josh Prottas, Roger Merritt, Ira Rezak (2011) 
Donna Sims, Oded Paz, Marvin Kay (2012) 

Mel Wacks, Michael Mooney, Sagi Salomon (2013) 

EDITOR: The Shekel 

Andrew Perala, 

PO Box 6626, Kamuela, HI 96743 
E-mail: aperala@aol.com 

EDITORIAL BOARD: 

Mel Wacks (Chairman), Stephan Fregger, 
Simcha Kuritzky, Ira Rezak 

EMERITI 

Florence Schuman, Treasurer Emeritus 
Ed Schuman, Editor Emeritus 


2 


Nominations, designs needed 


I sincerely thank the Board of 
Directors for granting a Compli- 
mentary Life Membership to me, as 
well as Dr. Morton Brookler. We are 
the only two regular members with 
membership numbers under 100, 
who have been continuous AINA 
members since 1968. We join the 
distinguished company of the 
previously named Compli- 
mentary Life Members — long 
time Board Member and Treasurer 
Florence Schuman and Israeli token 
expert Ady Bar-Tov. 

I have appointed an Election 
Committee with Oded Paz as Chair- 
man, and members Sagi Salomon 
and myself. 

I invite AINA members who 
would like to run for the Board of 
Directors and who meet the qualifi- 
cations in our bylaws to e-mail me 
at ainapresident@gmail.com within 
30 days of receiving this Shekel. 

The bylaws — which can be read 
at www. theshekel. org/aina-by-laws- 
-indicate that: “Each Director must 
be natural persons eighteen years of 
age or older. A Director must have 
been a member of the Association 
for at least three consecutive years 
prior to being nominated for elec- 
tion. A nominee must obtain nomi- 
nations from at least three other 
current members of the Associa- 
tion. The Election Committee shall 
review the nominations submitted 
and determine whether the potential 
candidate is qualified to serve as a 
Director of the Association.” 

In addition, board members are 
asked to attend the annual board 
meeting held at the summer conven- 
tion of the American Numismatic 
Association. 

The three present Directors whose 


terms expire this year are Josh 
Prottas, Roger Merritt and Dr. Ira 
Rezak, all of whom have indicated 
they will be running for reelection. 

It is also time to choose the design 
for the 2012 AINA medal — that will 
be given as a gift to all AINA mem- 
bers next year. 


The design, on an appropriate 
Judaic or Israel theme, must be 
submitted in solid black and white, 
where black indicates the raised 
frosty design and white represents 
the shiny field. Please submit within 
60 days of receiving this Shekel to 
AINA, P.O. Box 20255, Fountain 
Hills, AZ 85269 or email to ainapre- 
sident@gmai 1 . com . 

In addition to offering the first 
year Junior Membership in AINA 
free to teenagers (13-19) thanks 
to the generosity of the Kittredge 
Numismatic Foundation, an AINA 
member, who wishes to remain 
anonymous, has offered to spon- 
sor the second year membership of 
Juniors. So you have the opportu- 
nity of giving a gift of two years of 
membership in AINA to any teen- 
ager. 

Send us the names and addresses, 
along with their ages, of your teen- 
age children, grandchildren, etc. You 
will give them the gift of knowledge 
and possibly an enjoyable lifetime 
hobby. 

Hi 


President's message 


3 


The Ghosts 



Above, right: A recent photograph shows the shell of a 
former Talmud School in Libya. Above left, a pre- World 
War II photo of a Synagogue class in Benghazi ; student 
photo courtesy Point of No Return, http.V/jewishreJu- 
gees. blogspot. com. 


Libya 


BY MEL WACKS AND 
ANDREW PERALA 


he current era is one of pro- 
found change for many coun- 
tries in the Middle East, includ- 
ing civil-war wracked Libya. 

But decades ago, thousands were 
forced to flee Libya and lives were for- 
ever altered by distant events that, back 
then, seemed far away. Today, there are 


no known survivors of a once-thriving 
Jewish community in a country they 
helped build - a country that fell apart in 
the spring of 20 1 1 . 

Ruined husks of buildings, fading pho- 
tographs and the work of a few to record 
and share memories are all that remain 
of a presence with roots extending back 

Continued 



4 




er 


Carinus 283-285 AD 
Cold Aureus RIC-235 
Mint State 


Maximianus Daza 
305-306 AD. 
Cold Aureus RIC 96c 
Nearly Mint State 


Maximianus Daza 
310-313 AD. 
Cold Aureus RIC-96C 
Nearly Mint State 


Constantine II 
337-340 AD. 
Cold Solidius 
Nearly Mint State 


Licinia Eudoxia 425-455 AD 
Cold Solidus C-1 
Nearly Mint State 


from our May 30-June 1, 2011 


AUCTIONEERS 


This sale will also feature important Judean, 
World and U.S. Coins. Online bidding and 
catalogues available after May 1, 201 1 
Call 310-551-2646 to order $15 US \ $40 Int 
or view it free online: www.goldbergcoins.com 


Julian II 
361-363 AD. 

Cold Solidius RIC-199 EF 


Aelia Flaccilla 
379-395 AD. 

Cold Solidius RlC-78 Choice VF 


Domitian 81-96 AD. 
Cold Aureus RlC-769 
Ch.VF 


350 S. Beverly Dr #350 Beverly Hills CA 90212 


Talmud schools, daily life vibrant 



Photographs courtesy 
Armando Nahum 


Top , a photo of bakers and bread sell- 
ers on a Tripoli street, circa pre- World 
War II. 

At left, a contemporary photo of the 
interior of a Tripoli synagogue. 


Continued 

centuries. Hope remains, perhaps not of 
returning, but of keeping alive the con- 
nection to a homeland that is no longer 
home.There are occasional conventions 
of the displaced. And for numismatic 
collectors, at least one rare medal has 
surfaced from a former Talmud School in 
Tripoli. 

Alex Ben-Ariel describes this medal 
on his website www.historama.com, as 
issued in 1933-4 by the Talmud Torah 
School (“Beit Sefer Talmud Torah”) 
in Tripoli. The medal apparently was 
awarded for scholastic achievement. His- 
torical details are scarce aside from the 
legends and devices on the medal. 

The obverse of this silver, seven-gram, 


27-millimeter diameter prize medal fea- 
tures a legend in Hebrew: “Ben Hacham 
Yismach Av” (“A Smart Son Makes a 
Father Happy”) surrounding a tablet of 
the Ten Commandments - with “Mishlei 
yud-alef’ (“Book of Proverbs 12”) in 
Rashi script below. 

The Sefer (book) Mishlei is also 
known as one of the Books of Wisdom of 
the Bible, which encourages the reader to 
lead a life of intellect. The reverse reads 
in Hebrew “Prize 5694” (1933-1934) and 
“Beit Sefer Talmud Torah Tripoli.” 

The former Jewish community of 
Libya can trace its origin back to Roman 
rule some 300 years before the Common 
Era. 

More than two millenia ago, the social 

Continued 


6 


Rare medal honors scholars 


Continued 

climate was such that Jews 
prospered in the region. Then, 
in 73 C.E., a zealot arrived from 
the land of Israel, Jonathan the 
Weaver, and incited a revolt 
among the poor in Cyrene. 

The relatively “hands-off’ 
practice of Roman rule toward 
Jews catalyzed immediately. 
Romans murdered Jonathan the 
Weaver and executed his follow- 
ers and wealthy Jews in Cyrene. 

The revolt, historians note, 
foreshadowed another revolt 
more than four decades later 
(115 CE) in Cyrene, Egypt and 
Cyprus. 

Seen in the hindsight of 20th 
century history, Jonathan the 
Weaver’s fight, and crushing 
defeat, foreshadowed a crisis 
precipitated in Libya in 1967 by 
the Six Day War. 

The population of Jews in 
Libya had steadily decreased after 
the creation of the State of Israel 
in 1948. But the Six Day War 
marked the final last days, and 
from the opening day of the war, 
until the early 1970s, the popula- 
tion of Jews in Libya decreased 
until none were left. 

According to author Renzo 
DeFelice’s book Jews in an Arab 
Land: Libya, 1835-1970, (trans- 
lated by Judith Roumani, Austin: 
University of Texas Press, 1985), 

Continued 




Images courtesy Alex Ben- Ariel 
A rare medal issued 1933-34 by the Talmud Torah 
School in Tripoli, Libya. The obverse, top, depicts 
the stone tablet of the Ten Commandments sur- 
rounded by a legend that translates as "A Smart 
Son Makes a Father Happy. ” The medal s reverse 
gives the date - 5694 - and school name, the “ Beit 
Sefer Talmud Torah Tripoli. ” The 27 -millimeter 
silver medal weighs seven grams. 


7 



Communities vanished overnight 



Scenes of daily 

LIFE IN LIBYA LOST 
DECADES AGO 


Photographs courtesy Armando Nahum 
The Nahum family on a Tripoli street, 
circa 1950s; and at left, an older, 
undated photo of a Libya Jewish wed- 
ding party. 


Continued 

there were 8,509 Jews in the city of Trip- 
oli in 1 9 1 1 . The population prospered, 
growing to 15,627 in 1931 and reaching 
17,196 individuals by 1936. 

For many Jews living in Libya between 
the world wars, conditions were not 
unbearable. The World Jewish Congress 
reports the “situation remained good and 
the Jews made great strides in educa- 
tion,” including the operation of Talmud 
schools in Tripoli. 

But that relatively benign situation 
changed by the late 1930s, with the grad- 
ual enforcement of Fascist anti-Jewish 
laws. From then until the departure of the 
last Jews some three decades ago, Jews 
were subject to increasing repression. 

Still, by 1941, according to the World 
Jewish Congress, Jews accounted for a 
quarter of the population of Tripoli and 
maintained 44 synagogues. 


With the advent of World War II, Jews 
found no escape in Libya from Nazi 
atrocities. By 1942, Germans occupied 
the Jewish quarter of Benghazi, plunder- 
ing shops, and deporting more than 2,000 
Jews across the desert, where an esti- 
mated 400 died. 

Many Jews from Tripoli were also 
sent to forced labor camps. During the 
British occupation, there was a series of 
pogroms, the worst of which, in 1945, 
resulted in the deaths of more than 100 
Jews in Tripoli and other towns and the 
destruction of five synagogues. 

With insecurity growing, and the 
establishment of the State of Israel, many 
Jews fled Libya even though emigration 
was illegal. Still, more than 3,000 Jews 
succeeded in leaving, with many reset- 
tling in Israel. 

When the British legalized emigra- 


Continued 


LIVES ALTERED INSTANTLY BY WORLD EVENTS 



Images courtesy 
Armando Nahum 
The gutted remant of a Tripoli 
synagogue, exact date unknown. 
Below, the Nahum family at 
breakfast in the family home 
in Tripoli before a distant war 
changed everything. 


Continued 

tion in 1949, 30,000 Jews left Libya. 

By the time of Col. Muammar Qad- 
dafi’s coup in 1969, only about 500 Jews 
remained in Libya. Qaddafi would sub- 
sequently confiscate all Jewish property 
and cancel all debts owed to Jews. 

By 1 974 there were no more than 20 
Jews in the entire country. It is now be- 
lieved that in Libya, the Jewish presence 
has ceased to exist. 

Those are the official statistics com- 
piled by a variety of sources. 

But statistics can overwhelm, and 
numb understanding. Numbers alone 
cannot tell individual stories. The per- 
sonal stories of forced exodus fromLibya 


hotknife through the cold numbers. 

Vivienne Roumani-Denn, whose fam- 
ily emigrated to Boston from Libya when 
she was 1 2 years old, has documented 
the uprooting of Jews from Libya in her 
critically acclaimed film. The Last Jews 
of Libya, (narrated by Isabella Rossalini 
and available as a DVD and/or book at 
lastj ewsofl i bya.com ). 

Armando Nahum is an ex-Libyan Jew. 
His father, Quint, was bom in Libya, the 
son of multiple generations of Libyan 
Jews. Nahum’s mother, Angela, also was 
bom in Libya, after her Italian Catholic 
parents had emigrated to Libya in search 
of a better life. Nahum’s website, http:// 

Continued 


9 


TRANSFORMATION: OASIS TO DESERT 


Continued 

web.mac.com/anahum/iWeb/, features 
several “windows” into the daily life 
of a young boy in Libya mercifully 
oblivious to the dangers all around. “It 
was fun times,” he writes, of trips to 
the beach and playing safely outdoors 
with friends. 

That sunny childhood ended when 
world events bowled through Libya 
on June 5, 1967. Nahum describes his 
family’s hurried, secretive flight from 
the land of their birth, bringing only 
what they could carry. 

The precipitating event for the last 
stronghold of Jews in Libya was the 
outbreak of 1 967’s Six Day War. The 
brilliantly executed preemptive strike 
on Israel’s neighbors decapitated lethal 
intentions by surrounding nations, but 
inflamed Arabs in Libya. 

When the news broke in Tripoli on June 
5, 1 967 of the airstrikes against Egyptian 
forces, agitated crowds became within 
hours lethal riots targeted against Jews. 

“Mom was at her store, ‘Pixie Tailor- 
ing’ and Dad was at his: ‘Rones Liquor 
Store.’ Immediately upon the news, Dad 
closed the store, went to pick up Mom 
and went home . . . My brother and I 
were having fun at the ‘Underwater Club’ 
swimming, laughing and just being with 
friends. . . Mom and Dad came looking 
for us, found us and took us back home 
. . . Mom and Dad had a look I have never 
seen upon their faces, a panic but con- 
trolled look.” The family’s flight took sev- 
eral days, and was aided by a sympathetic 



A 1915 meeting of the first Jewish National 
Fund Committee in Tripoli. 

member of the Royal family. 

Before finding safe passage out, Nahum 
writes “We remained at our house for one 
week. We somehow managed for food 
and I recall Mom and Dad talk about find- 
ing a bag of fresh bread at our door steps. 
We do not know to this day who might 
have risked their life for us.” mi 

Additional resources include: 

JIM ENA : Jews Indigenous to the Middle 
East and North Africa, http://www.jimena.org/ 
index.htm; 

The Last Jews of Libya , a film by Vivienne 
Roumani-Denn, http://geoimages.berkeley. 
edu/libyajew/LibyanJews/libya.html; 

The Forgotten Jews', A Personal Story by 
Armando Nahum; http://web.mac.com/ana- 
hum/iWeb; 

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries; 
http://www.justicefoijews.com/. 

The Jews of Libya: Coexistence, Persecu- 
tion, Resettlement, by Maurice Roumani. 


10 



Image courtesy 
Goldbergs Coins 

The reverse of 
a 1637 2 ducat 
“ Death Ducat ” 
struck to commem- 
orate the end of 
the rule of Wilhelm 
IV in the German 
state of Hesse. The 
four letters of the 
unspeakable name 
of God, the Tetra- 
grammaton, grace 
the sun stilling 
the winds blowing 
against a tree. 


Presenting 
the Unspeakable: 


The Tetragrammaton on i 6th and 17th 
Century Northern European Coins 


By Howard Berlin 


oth Denmark and Swe- 
den long have had warm 
relations with their Jewish 
communities, especially evident in 
the cooperation between both na- 
tions during World War II in smug- 
gling 7,200 Danish Jews to Sweden. 


Few other than avid numis- 
matists are likely aware that 
some of the early Danish and 
Swedish coins contain the Tetra- 
grammaton, which is the He- 
brew four-letter name of God. 

1 



Continued 


HEBREW ALSO ON GERMAN COINS 



Image courtesy Goldbergs Coins 
The German state of Hesse in 
the 1 7th century had a tradi- 
tion of striking “death ” coins 
in 1- and 2 -due at denomina- 
tions to commemorate the 
passing of a ruler The mint- 
ages, according to Goldbergs 
Coins, were all “ exceedingly 
small, and all are very rare. ” 
Shown here, the obverse of 
the “death ducat ” shown on 
the prvious page. This com- 
memorative gold coin sold 
for $10,925 at a Goldbergs 
auction in May 2008. 


Continued 

Having long been interested in 
different aspects of Jewish numis- 
matics, I was aware of these coins 
and I finally had the opportunity 
to view many examples bearing 
the Tetragrammaton. On a recent 
trip to Europe, I visited both the 
Copenhagen’s Nationalmuseet, 
home to the Royal Collection of 
Coins and Medals and Stock- 
holm’s National Museum, which 
houses the Royal Coin Cabinet. 

TETRAGRAMMATON 

The Greek word “tetragram- 
maton” means “four letters” and 
represents the four Hebrew let- 
ters yod-hey-vuv-hey )Y||‘p 
as read from right to left. 

This four-letter combination 
appears exactly 5,410 times in the 
Tanakh, or Old Testament, which 


makes up the five books of the To- 
rah, the Prophets and the Writings. 

Because ancient Hebrew was 
written without nikudot (vowel 
marks) we are not really sure how 
these ancient words were pro- 
nounced. Only the priests of the 
ancient temples knew God’s cor- 
rect name and pronunciation and 
they whispered it only on Yom 
Kippur within the temple’s Holy 
of Holies in the presence of God. 

Modem Hebrew does not use 
vowel marks and its use today is 
generally confined to prayer books 
and aids for teaching Hebrew. 
Because, as in ancient times, Jews 
today never pronounce the four let- 
ters of the Tetragrammaton exactly, 
even when writing with vowel 
marks, the word “adonai,” meaning 

Continued 


12 


Danish Jew headed Mint 



Image courtesy Goldberg s Coins 


A 1645 Denmark 2-mark silver coin displays the Tetragram- 
maton prominently on its reverse. 


Continued 

“Lord,” is said in its place. 

When Christian scribes 
translated the Torah from 
the Hebrew Masoretic text 
during the Middle Ages, 
they incorrectly translated 
the Tetragrammaton with 
the vowel marks as either 
“Jehovah,” not knowing 
about the prohibition of 
the pronunciation of these 
four letters, or as “Yah- 
weh,” from its approxi- 
mate four-letter English 
transliteration, YHWH. 

Very often coin auc- 
tion catalogers include in 
their description for these 
Danish and Swedish coins 
having the Tetragrammaton the 
specific mention of Jehovah or Yah- 
weh, further propagating this error. 

On June 29, 2008, the Vatican’s 
Congregation for Divine Wor- 
ship and the Sacraments ruled 
that the name of either Yahweh 
or Jehovah “must not be used or 
pronounced in songs and prayers 
during the Catholic Masses.” This 
ruling now nearly coincides with 
the traditional Jewish practice. 

DENMARK’S JEWS 

The most famous of Denmark’s 
early kings was Christian IV, who 
reigned from 1603 until 1648. He 
had a Mint Master named Albert 
Dionis, a Sephardic Jew - one who 


is a descendant from Spain and 
Portugal following the 1492 Edict 
of Expulsion, the Alhambra Decree. 

The king wanted Dionis, who 
was living in Hamburg with a 
successful import-export business 
at the time, to head the mint in 
Gluckstadt, a town newly created 
in 1617 on the Elbe River. Dionis 
accepted the king’s offer and was 
appointed Mint master in 1619. 

On Nov. 22, 1622, and perhaps 
at the suggestion of Dionis, the 
king invited Sephardic Jews “of 
the Portuguese Nation,” as they 
were known, from Amsterdam and 
Hamburg to come to Denmark. 

So that Gluckstadt could com- 
pete economically with Hamburg, 
the Danish king promised Jews 


13 


Continued 


Symbol prominent on many coins 

Continued 


complete religious freedom, and 
allowed them to own property 
and practice their professions. 
Although this invitation was 
first restricted only to Sephardic 
Jews, in the 1680s, the Ashkenazi 
Jews - those from the Rhineland 
and Eastern Europe - were also 
permitted entry into Denmark. 

The Danish monetary system 
from the 1 6th to the early 1 9th 
century consisted of the pen- 
ning, skilling, mark and ducat. 
Twelve penning equaled 1 skill- 
ing, 1 mark equaled 16 skilling 
and 1 2 mark equaled 1 ducat. 

The first Danish coins bearing 
the Tetragrammaton were minted 
in 1644. These coins were 4 skill- 
ing, 1 mark, 20 skilling and 2 
mark, all of which were composed 
of 0.593 fine silver, except the 
4-skilling coin, which was made 
0.250 fine silver. In addition, half-, 
1- and 2-ducat coins (all com- 
posed of 0.979 fine gold) also were 
minted with the 1644 date. The 
quarter-ducat coins (also 0.979 fine 
gold) only the bear the 1 649 date 
and were minted in Copenhagen. 

However, not all coins were 
minted in Copenhagen. All 
1 -mark coins, 1 644 through 
1647 inclusive, were minted in 
Christiania (since renamed Oslo) 
while 1 -ducat coins with the 1644, 

1 645 and 1 646 dates were struck 
at Gluckstadt (now in Germany), 
home of Denmark’s’ first Sep- 


> 



Images courtesy Goldberg's Coins 
Top: The reverse of a 1630 Sc hieB taler Klippe from the 
German state Hesse Cassel portrays a tree in a storm, 
with the sun above and the Hebrew Tetragrammaton 
legend often transliterated as “ Jehovah ” both above a 
city of six houses. On the obverse, above, the bust, facing 
right, of Wilhelm V (1627 to 1637) with the date in Latin, 
M-D-C-XXX and rosettes in the comers. The legend sur- 
rounds Wilhem Vs portrait: WILHELM.D:G:LANDGRA VI ’. 
HASSIAE. CO:C:D:Z:E:N* 

hardic Jews who were known as 
Ulfeldter, or “Hebrews.” Mint 
records show that 1 -ducat coins 
with the 1 644, 1 645 and 1 646 dates 
also were struck at Copenhagen. 

Continued 


14 



USAGE OF HOLY PHRASE UNCLEAR 


Images courtesy Goldberg s Coins 
Sweden’s 1609 6-mark coin carries the four letter 
word in Hebrew for God, the Tetragrammaton, above 
the obverse portrait of Carl IX. Rare. This coin sold 
for $6,900 in Goldberg’s May 2008 auction. 


Continued 

It is not clear why Christian 
IV chose the Tetragrammaton 
to be a prominent element on 
the coins during the last four 
years of his reign. Perhaps it 
was due in part to the influ- 
ence of his Jewish Mint master. 
Another hypothesis allows the 
legend that the king considered 
the Hebrew letters to be some 
sort of talisman or good luck 
symbol that was instrumental 
in helping him defeat Swe- 
den in the two-year Kalmar 
War, which ended in 1613. 

After his victory, the king 
ordered that the Tetragram- 
maton be carved prominently 
onto various churches and 
public buildings constructed 
during his reign. The inscrip- 
tion is still visible on many of 
these buildings, such as the 
Round Tower in Copenhagen’s 
Latin Quarter, built in 1637 
originally as an observatory. 

The coins of Christian IV 
having the Tetragrammaton 
were not minted every year 
between 1 644 and 1 648 for 
each denomination, but at least 
26 known combinations of 
dates, denominations, Mints 
and die varieties are known. 

The central design for the 
obverse for the silver coins is 
dominated by the king’s crowned 
monogram - the number 4 en- 
closed by the letter C. For the 


gold ducats of all denominations, 
the obverse shows the king wear- 
ing a crown and holding a scepter 
and orb as his symbols of power. 

The reverse for all denomina- 
tion is the same. In the center of 

Continued 



15 




First seen on 1568 Swedish Gold 



Images courtesy Howard Berlin/Gabriel Hildebrand, the Royal Coin Cabinet, Stockholm 
Sweden’s first gold coin, the 1568 ungyersk gillen, carried the Tetragrammaton on 
the reverse. The obverse portrays the laureate portrait, facing right, of Erik XIV. 


Continued 

the Danish coins is the Tetragram- 
maton with vowel marks. Above 
and below it is the Latin IUSTUS 
IUDEX. When combined with the 
Tetragrammaton, it translates as 
“The Lord is a righteous judge.” 
Coincidently, this is virtually 
identical to the equivalent He- 
brew phrase “da’han ha’emet” 
(“God . . . who is a righteous 
[or true] judge”), which are the 
last words of the “rending of 
the garment” blessing said by 
mourners at a Jewish funeral. 
SWEDEN’S JEWS 
Like Denmark, Sweden also 
developed a close relationship 
with the Jews, but at a later period. 
And like many areas throughout 
Europe, there were also dark pe- 
riods in its treatment of Jews. 

From 1718 to 1772 dur- 


ing what was termed the “Age 
of Liberty,” decrees were is- 
sued against Jews, and no Jews 
were allowed in Sweden. 

It was not until 1 774 that the first 
Jew, Aaron Isaac, was allowed into 
the country. In 1878 the Swedish 
Parliament granted Swedish Jews 
full civil rights. Despite the granting 
of these civil liberties, Swedish law, 
like the laws of the Netherlands, to- 
day prohibit ritual slaughter of ani- 
mals for food. Thus, halal meat for 
Muslims and kosher meat for Jews 
must be imported from Denmark. 

The first appearance of the 
Tetragrammaton on a Swedish coin 
was in 1 568, some 76 years before 
those of Denmark. It appeared on 
Sweden’s first gold coin, the ungy- 
ersk gyllen (“Hungarian gold”). 

At a gold content of more than 
23 karats (24 karats is pure), this 

Continued 


16 


James 1 1 medal carries phrase 



Image courtesy Goldberg s Coins 
The Tetragrammaton appeared on a British 
silver commemorative medal struck for James II 
in 1689. The medal s reverse depicts a column 
struck and broken by lighting emanating from 
the cloud bearing, according to Goldberg s 
Auction catalog 36, “ the name of Jehovah in 
Hebrew. View of London from the south. Rare. ” 
This example sold for $3,105, including fees. 


Continued 

was to be a version of the Dutch 
guilder and only 5,032 coins 
were struck. The obverse has 
the laureate image of Eric XIV, 
who ruled from 1560 to 1568. 

The reverse has the Tetragram- 
maton with vowel marks, which 
is the first word in Hebrew 
from Eric’s motto: “Deus dat 
cui vult” - “God gives to whom 
He wills.” The motto alludes 
to the fact that Eric was Swe- 
den’s first hereditary king and 
that he received his succession 
from God and not by election 
at the Stones of Mora as did 
the Swedish kings before him. 

Besides the coins of Eric 
XIV, other Swedish coins bear- 
ing the Tetragrammaton were 
struck during the reigns of three 
other monarchs: Karl IX (Angli- 
cized to Charles) with known dates 
from 1 599 to 1 603 as duke, and as 
king from 1 604 to 1611; Gustav 
II Adolph, perhaps the greatest of 
all Swedish kings, known as the 
“Lion of the North,” from 1616 
to 1626; and John, Duke of Oster- 
gotland, from 1613 to 1626. Like 
older brother Eric XIV, Karl’s Latin 
royal motto also included a refer- 
ence to Jehovah: “Jehovah sola- 
tium meum” - “In God I Trust.” 

During this period the Swedish 
monetary system was composed 
of the ore, mark (equal to 8 ore), 
daler (a forerunner of the U.S. 
dollar and equal to 32 ore) and 


the riksdaler (equal to 96 ore). 

More than 66 known combi- 
nations of dates, denominations, 
Mints die varieties and rulers with 
the Tetragrammaton are known, 
including: half and 2 ore; half, 1, 

2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mark; half and 
I daler; and the riksdaler. While 
most coins were minted in Stock- 
holm, others were minted at Gote- 
borgh, Vadsten and Soderkoping. 
GOLD KLIPPES 
Of the Swedish coins, two of 
the more unusual are those gold 
coins that are square in shape, 
called “klippes,” as they were 
literally clipped from a sheet of 

Continued 


17 


Phrase appears on rarest coins 



Sweden ’s rare 1626 gold I ()-mark klippe portrays the 
Tetratragrammaton on the coin 's reverse as though shin- 
ing from within the Sun. The coin 's obverse depicts royal 
symbols of King Gustav II Adolph. 

Images courtesy Gabriel Hildebrand, 
the Royal Coin Cabinet, Stockholm/Howard Berlin. 


Continued 

gold to save time. Two that have 
the Tetragrammaton (both in 0.870 
fine gold) are the rare 1612 5-mark 
piece of Karl IX and the 1626 10- 
mark coin of Gustav II Adolph. 

Collecting these coins can prove 
quite a challenge. Many of the 
silver coins are readily available 
in low grades while the gold coins 
are often harder, if not more ex- 
pensive, to acquire in most grades. 
However, some of the klippes 
are exceedingly rare and are usu- 
ally found only in museum col- 
lections such as the national ones 
in Copenhagen and Stockholm. 

OTHER OCCURRENCES 

Although I have focused only 
on the early coins of Denmark and 


Sweden, further hunting reveals 
that the Tetragrammaton also ap- 
pears on 17th century medallic 
double show talers of Holland. 

In addition, German cities and 
states such as Erfurt, Nurem- 
burg, Hesse-Cassel and Saxony 
during the 17th century also 
struck ducats and talers bear- 
ing the Tetragrammaton. raj 

A version of this article first ran in Coin 
World, Jan. 3, 2011. Used with permis- 
sion of Coin World and the author. 

Recommended for further reading: 

“ Use of God’s Name Jehovah on Coins, 
Medals, Tokens andJetons ” by longtime 
AINA member Saul Needleman, Ph.D., 
Xlibris Corporation, 1-888-795-4274. 


18 


Nerva s 



Bold Move? 

by Aaron kogon 


O ne year after Nerva became the 
Emperor of Rome, he minted 
a very enigmatic coin, com- 
memorating the abolition of not the actual 
tax, but the demeaning embarrassment of 
the method of collecting the “Jewish Tax.” 
Marcus Cocceius Nerva (more com- 
monly known as “Nerva”) became the 


Roman emperor in the year 96 of the 
Common Era, following the assassination 
of the previous emperor, Domitian. 

Although Domitian (8 1 to 96 CE) was 
considered a ruthless tyrant, he gave him- 
self many honors, making himself popular 
with the citizens - but he was hated and 

Continued 


19 


Indecent proof of tax ended? 



Image courtesy 
Goldbergs Coins 
On the preceding page , 
the obverse of a sestertius 
portrays the aged emperor 
The coin s reverse, at left, 
seems to proclaim the end, 
if not of the Temple tax, 
of acts of “ calumny ” in 
collecting the tax. At left, 
the reverse of the same 
coin with the central date- 
palm tree flanked by S C 
(SENATUS CONSULTO) and 
the surrounding legend FI SC I 
IVDAICI CALVMNIA. 


Continued 

feared by Rome’s Senators. In the early 
years of his rise to power, Domitian was a 
Roman general and proved himself during 
the First Jewish Revolt against Rome. As 
a result of that war, Domitian taxed the 
Jews heavily during his reign. 

Domitian was later assassinated by 
court officials, and replaced by Nerva, 
who was aware of and may have even 
participated in the assassination plot. 

At age 66, Nerva was already old when 
he decided to end Domitian ’s tyranny by 
promising never to kill any of his Sena- 
tors. Historians often call Nerva a weak 
but benevolent ruler, who only ruled from 
96 to 97 CE while leading the nation to 
the brink of a civil war. 

Nerva minted coins as messages of 
propaganda against Domitian’s tyrannical 

20 


ways. Domitian had minted coins bearing 
the legend SALVS AVGVST[1] or WELFARE 
OF THE EMPEROR with some coins show- 
ing altars. 

Nerva later minted coins bearing the 
similar but contrasting legend SALVS 
PVBLICA, meaning WELFARE OF THE 
PEOPLE. 

Nerva also minted coins proclaiming 
JUSTICE OF THE EMPEROR, and issued 
coins wishing luck to both the emperor 
and the people on the same coin. 

Nerva also minted a very interesting 
sestertius (Hendin 797, R1C 82). The ob- 
verse is similar to coins of that period, and 
appears normal for a coin of Nerva. 

On the obverse, there is a laureate bust 
of Nerva right, reading IMP NERVA CAES 
AVG P M TR P COS 11 PP, which fully spelled 

Continued 



ABOLISHING CALUMNY SINGULAR ACT 



Image courtesy Goldberg s Coins 
Early in Nerva s reign (96 to 98 CE), the Rome mint 
struck gold aurei depicting clasped hands on the 
reverse surrounded by the legend CONCORDIA EX- 
ERCITUUM , a direct appeal for military loyalty. 


Continued 

out stands for IMPERATOR NERVA, 

CAESAR, AUGUSTUS, PONTIFEX, 

MAXIMUS, TRIBUNICIA POTESTAS, 

CONSUL ROMA II, PATER PATRIAE. 

The reverse of this coin is what 
makes it so curious. There is a 
palm tree in the center of the coin, 
with dates hanging from either 
side of tree. Around the coin is the 
fascinating legend reading FISCI 
IVDAICI CALVMNIA SVBLATA with 
SC. 

There has been no consensus 
about the exact translation of 
this coin (with the exception of 
the standard SC at the end of the 
legend, which stands for SENATUS 
CONSULTO), but we can translate 
it as “the calumny of the Jewish 
Tax has been abolished, consulted 
by the Senate.” 

During the time when the Temples (and 
the Tabernacle) existed, Jews had to pay 
a half shekel (Heb. bpwn rrxna), equal to 
two drachmae, as a tax once a year, to help 
fund the care and use of the holy items 
{Exodus 30:11-16). 

After the destruction of the Second 
Temple, Vespasian continued to tax the 
Jews, and sent the money to the care of 
the worship of Jupiter Capitolinus, distort- 
ing the religious and historical context of 
the Temple tax to humiliate the Jews. 

Domitian later heavily taxed all of 
the Jews, wherever they lived, even if 
they concealed their Jewish heritage 
and religion. In other acts of calculated 
humiliation, the Romans publicly checked 

21 


men, often in crowded places, to see if 
the person was circumcised and therefore 
Jewish. 

One good example of the Roman distor- 
tion of the Jewish tax was recorded by 
the Roman historian Suetonius. He wrote 
that a 90-year-old man had been publicly 
stripped and examined to see if he was 
Jewish, even though the Jewish law writes 
only people from age 20 to 62 were taxed. 

Most historians nowadays think that 
this coin was not actually commemorating 
the abolishing of the tax itself, but rather, 
it was the calumny (CALVMNIA ) of the 
Jewish tax that was abolished (or gotten 
rid of) (SVBLATA). 

This means that the Jews were still 
taxed, but the embarrassing public in- 

Continued 


Did ‘miracle at sea’ affect nerva? 



Image courtesy Goldbergs Coins 
The obverse of a gold aurei struck early in 
Nerva s reign portrays the emperor laureate and 
perhaps somewhat younger than his actual age. 


Continued 

spection was eliminated. 

Nerva was characterized during his 
rule as a weak emperor. 

But this view may be not exactly cor- 
rect, especially in comparison to the ter- 
ror-filled reigns of the previous Flavian 
emperors. Nerva apparently attempted to 
abolish the humiliating acts of proof that 
had developed while collecting a tax that 
had been in existence for 26 years. 

This decree alone would have been a 
bold thing to do. Of all the things Nerva 
could have done to appease the people 
of Rome after a tyrannical reign, why 
did he prioritize the Jewish tax? 

There are several references in the 
Talmud about the trip of several rabbis 
to Rome after the death of Domitian, to 
meet Nerva ( Mishnah , Shabbath 16.8, 
Maaser Sheni 5.9, E rub in 4.2; Babylo- 
nian Talmud, Sukkah 23a.41b; Jerusa- 
lem Talmud, Sukkah 2. 4, 5 2d). 

According to Jewish tradition, Rabbi 
Akiva had saved Nerva’s life by warning 


him about Domitian’s plans to kill him. 

Domitian was killed by Stephanus, 
a servant of Consul Flavius Clemens. 
Clemens, according to the Talmud, was 
greatly affected by the sages of Judaea, 
especially Rabbi Akiva. 

Clemens’ first encounter of the Rab- 
bis occurred when Akiva, Nachum of 
Gimzo and several other Rabbis were 
traveling to Rome to give a gift to the 
Emperor. 

The seas were very rough, and 
everyone on board thought they were 
doomed. When the Rabbis came on deck 
and began praying, the sea calmed. 

After several other miraculous events, 
Clemens converted, gave himself a He- 
brew name (Ketiah bar Shalom) before 
he was sentenced to death for his “athe- 
ist” Jewish views. 

This may be one of the reasons, along 
with Nerva’s kind ways, that Nerva may 
have issued a coin bearing the legend 
apparently revoking the “calumny” of 
the Jewish tax. HU 


22 


1,000 YEARS 

IN 


CHINA 


BY MEL WACKS 


A medal designed by Jamie Franki honors the 
1,000-year history of Jews living in China. The 
medal s reverse, shown here, features a Jewish wor- 
shiper reading the Torah (Bible) and was inspired 
by a 1 122 visit by Catholic priest. The Jewish- 
American Hall of Fame and the Jewish Times Asia 
recently issued the 3-inch medal in editions limited 
to 388 bronze, 188 silver-plated bronze and 88 
gold-plated bronze — each serial numbered on the 
edge. (For more information on obtaining a medal, 
please see additional information at end of story.) 



J ews have lived in peace with their 
neighbors and with the approval of the 
government in China from the Silk Road 
trade route preceding the Middle Ages to 
the time of refugees in Shanghai during 
World War II. 

A commemorative medal issued by 
cosponsors The Jewish-American Hall 
of Fame and the Jewish Times Asia is an 
impressive three-inch, half pound work 
of art to honor this long history. 


The medal, in limited editions of just 
388 bronze, 188 silver-plated bronze and 
88 gold-plated bronze — has its own 
unique serial number inscribed on the 
edge. 

The Long Road 

According to scholar Xin Xu (“The 
Jews of Kaifeng, China”), the first Jews 
settled in Kaifeng sometime between 
960 and 1126, CE. Kaifeng is one of the 
seven capitals of ancient China and is 

Continued 


23 


HISTORY CAPTURED ON MEDAL 



The 2011 medal s obverse combines 
the Chinese yin-yang symbol (represent- 
ing the two complementary forces that 
make up all aspects of life — heaven and 
earth, male and female, light and dark) 
with the Jewish Star of David. 

The Star of David on the medal 
advances the story of the Jews in China 
to modern times, when nearly 20,000 
European Jews found a safe haven in 
Shanghai during World War II. 


Continued 

situated on the bank of the Yellow River 
about halfway between Beijing and 
Shanghai. Sources indicate that around 
the year 1000, Kaifeng had a population 
estimated at 400,000 and was one of the 
largest cities in the world. 

Kaifeng ’s - and China’s - first syna- 
gogue was built in 1 163. The first set- 
tlers were Silk Road traders, probably 
from Persia. 

It is estimated that by the late 13th 
century there were about 2,000 Jews in 
Kaifeng. 

A Kaifeng tourist web site states: 

“Today the community is fairly well 
integrated into the local population, 
after centuries of intermarriage, so that 
although more than two hundred of 
the Kaifeng population claim Jewish 
descent, they will not be overly easy to 
recognize. Thankfully the beliefs and 
customs of the Jewish community here. 



A Drawing (torn Ihtt "OtAf? of tt M) Mdam oJ Ptafi” 

ej . e>j ft S' 7 - 

that had died out after many centuries of 
neglect and suppression, is slowly mak- 
ing a comeback.” 

The web site goes on to indicate that a 

Continued 


24 


Kaifeng Steles survived centuries 


Continued 

few steles from the synagogue dedications 
of 1489, 1512, and 1679 can be seen at the 
Kaifeng Bowuguan Museum. 

The 2011 medal’s obverse combines the 
Chinese yin-yang symbol (representing the 
two complementary forces that make up all 
aspects of life — heaven and earth, male and 
female, light and dark) with the Jewish Star 
of David. 

The Star of David on the medal’s reverse 
advances the story of the Jews in China to 
modem times, when nearly 20,000 Euro- 
pean Jews found a safe haven in Shanghai 
during World War II. 

The Hebrew letters within the star spell 
Shemesh (sun) as appeared on a plaque 
from the Kaifeng Synagogue, above the 
Shema prayer. 

Interestingly, the morning benedictions 
before the Shema echo the meaning of the 
yin-yang: “Who forms light and createst 
darkness.” 

The model of the Kaifeng Synagogue, 
shown in this article, is based on the model 
displayed at Bet Hatefutsoth Museum of 
the Jewish Diaspora, Tel Aviv, which in 
turn was created from the drawings of 
Catholic Father Jean Domenge, made when 
he visited Kaifeng in 1722. Another image 
of the Kaifeng Synagogue, also is based on 
the drawings of Domenge. 

Significantly, another of Domenge’s 
original drawings depict Kaifeng Syna- 
gogue worshippers without shoes, as does 
the medal. 

M oses, arriving at the site of the 
burning bush, was immediately 



Above: Ink rubbings of a 1512 stele from 
the Kaifeng Synagogue. 

Below : Note the lack of shoes on worship- 
pers in a 1 722 drawing by Catholic Father 
Jean Domenge. 

. * ' r , * < 

d ]} 7 f j 1 -)'* 1 2gH, 



25 



Kaifeng Synagogue blended cultures 



An exterior view of the Kaifeng Synagogue, copied by Father J. Brucker, from drawings prepared 
by Father Jean Domenge. Reproduced from “ Inscriptions Juives ” by Father Jerome To bar 


Continued 

commanded to remove his shoes from his 
feet, because he was standing on holy ground 
(. Exodus 5:5), and from this episode the 
Sages deduced that one is required to remove 
shoes in holy places. 

The initials of sculptor Jamie Franki, 
the medal’s creator, are below the Chinese 
inscription. Franki is a prolific designer of 


commemorative medals, and his facing 
portrait of Thomas Jefferson appears on 
every United States 5-cent coin produced 
since 2006. 

The “Over 1 ,000 Years of Jewish Life in 
China” medals are available, as supplies last, 
from the non-profit Jewish-American Hall of 
Fame, 5 1 89 Jeffdale Avenue, Woodland Hills, 
CA 9 1 364; telephone 8 1 8-225- 1 348. raj 


AINA MEMBERS CAN ORDER LIMITED EDITION MEDALS 
COMMEMORATING OVER 1 ,000 YEARS OF JEWISH LIFE IN CHINA 
AT SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PRICES 

Bronze @ $50 (Reg. $88 - SAVE $38) . . . Maximum mintage only 388 
Silver-Plated Bronze @ $85 (Reg. $125 - SAVE $40) ... Maximum mintage only 188 
Gold-plated Bronze @$115 (Regularly $ 1 65 - SAVE $50) .. Maximum mintage only 88 

Add $5 per order for shipping and insurance. Each medal is individually serial numbered on the edge, 
comes in a gift pouch with a Certificate of Authenticity. Orders will be filled on a first-come-first 
served basis subject to availability. 

Indicate that you are an AINA member and send your check to the non-profit Jewish-American Hall of 
Fame, 5 1 89 Jeffdale Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 9 1 364. For credit card orders call (8 1 8) 225- 1 348. 


26 



1826 VIEW: 

Chinese Jews Esteemed 


An article in Baltimore’s Niles 
Weekly Register , published Nov. 1 8, 
1 826 indicates that: 

“In the last No. of the Asiatic 
Journal, there is an interesting ar- 
ticle respecting the Jews in China. 
They were settled in that country, as 
well as in other parts of Asia, many 
centuries prior to the Christian era; 
even as early as 1 000 years before. 
They migrated from Persia, by way 
of Khorason [an historical region 
spanning what are now northeastern 
Iran, northern Afghanistan, and the 
southern parts of Turkmenistan and 
Uzbekistan], They say themselves 
that they came from the west, or 
from Siyu — They have a MS. 
Copy of the Pentateuch; and they 
long kept up an intercourse with 
other Jews in Persia, and the more 
western parts of Asia: It is said 
they received some additions soon 
after the destruction of Jerusalem 
by Titus, in 70. Some of them have 
become Mahometans [Muslims]. 

“In their more ancient writings, 
they say Adam was the first man — 
that Abraham was the real author 
of the law, which was afterwards 
published by Moses. They inculcate 
adoration of heaven; by which is 
probably meant the Invisible One 
who inhabits the heavens and all 
worlds. Abraham, they say, wor- 
shipped heaven but not under any 
figure or image. 



“These Jews are said to be honest 
and industrious, and are esteemed 
by the Chinese. They have a syna- 
gogue 350 feet long and 150 wide, 
and dedicated to ‘the Creator and 
Preserver of all things.’ There is 
this inscription also on a table in the 
synagogue, — ‘Hear, O Israel, Je- 
hovah our God, is the only Jehovah.’ 
“When the people enter the tem- 
ple, they take off their shoes, and 
when they pray they turn towards 
the west [Jerusalem], The person 
who reads the law covers his face 
with a thin veil. 

“They believe in a judgement, 
in a paradise, and place of punish- 
ment. The sabbath is kept strictly 
by them. But they do not attempt to 
make proselytes, nor even go into 
the temple where an idol is wor- 
shipped.” nu 
27 



1 oz. fine gold .9999 


Coming Soon 

Second Israeli Bullion 


To be released on 
Jerusalem Day, June 1 , 201 1 


Limited Mintage: 3,600 
Issued by the Bank of Israel 


THE HOLY LAND MINT 

ICMC - SOLE DISTRIBUTOR OF COINS ISSUED BY THE BANK OF ISRAEL 


since 

1958 


www.israelmint.com Tel. 972-4-8212807 


1 





GOLD COINS FROM ISRAEL 


THE DEAD SEA COIN 


JONAH IN THE WHALE ^ 


THE ISRAEL NATIONAL TRAIL 


AKKO (ACRE) 


PARTING OF THE RED SEA 







Shanghai’s 

Magnificent 

medal 

Issued by museum that honors 
Shanghai's Jewish Refugees of wwn 

By Mel Wacks 


A handsome medal has been 
issued by the Museum 
for Jewish Refugees 
in Shanghai. An example of the 
medal was presented recently to 
Mel Wacks by Long Hu, a medal- 
ist, architect and medal collector in 
Zhuhai, China. 

The Certificate of Authenticity 
accompanying the medal contains 
the following text: 

“The Jewish people have a long 
history of torture and suffering ... 
but their annihilation in the Nazi 
camps turned into the darkest page 
in the history of Jews and mankind 
as well. 

“The Chinese people are coura- 
geous and kind; not fearing the 
Fascist tyranny and evil power, 
they stretched out arms to admit a 
large number of Jewish refugees, 
and established a deep, trustworthy 


28 


and precious friendship.” 

The Museum for Jewish Refu- 
gees in Shanghai is housed in the 
former Ohel Moshe Synagogue, 
located at No. 62, Changyang 
Road, Hongkou District. Built in 
1927 (5688 in the Jewish calendar), 
it was a meeting place for Jews in 
Shanghai at that time. 

From the end of 1 938 to 1 945 

— after more than 20,000 Jew- 
ish refugees settled down in their 
homes in the ghetto in Hongkou 

— the synagogue quickly became 
the center of their activities in order 
to support and straighten their faith 
and energy to fight against Fascism. 

In the post-war years, Jewish ref- 
ugees went to various parts of the 
world, but this synagogue remains 
unmovable in their hearts. 

Today, when they come to visit 

Continued 



Medal marks history and refuge 



Michelangelo s iconic sculpture of Moses is the central figure on an 80mm copper uni- 
face medal issued by Shanghai s Museum for Jewish Refugees . 


Continued 

Shanghai, they are sure to visit this 
synagogue with sighs and sorrows, 
tears and smiles. 

For the sake of telling the past 
bitter memories and educating 
visitors, with the approval of our 
respective departments, a new hall 
will go up on the former site of 
Ohel Moshe Synagogue. 

A commemorative copper uniface 
medallion produced in 1998 is 80 
millimeters in diameter, and was 
issued in an edition of 2,000 pieces. 
On the lower left of the medal’s 


uniface design is the main building 
of the Jewish Refugees Memorial 
Hall of Shanghai. 

The medal’s uniface upper part 
features the Portrait of Moses, the 
famous masterpiece by the immor- 
tal Italian Renaissance artist Mi- 
chelangelo. 

The designer is Mr. Zhu Zhuo- 
peng, a famous collector, writer, 
calligrapher, art-souvenir-designer, 
listed in the International Bio- 
graphical Dictionaries, published 
separately in England, America and 
China. ICJ 


29 




By Mel Wacks & Andrew Perala 


I srael’s stunning pavilion, shown 
above in an artist’s rendering, was one 
of the highlights of Expo Shanghai 2010. 
The global fair ran from May 1 to Oct. 31, 
2010 — welcoming 73 million visitors 
with 246 pavilions built to celebrate the 
Expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life.” 
The Israel Pavilion graced the Expo 


with a structure composed of two stream- 
lined buildings hugging each other like 
two clasped hands, or a “seashell.” 

One side of the “seashell” was made 
of authentic stone while the other was 
transparent glass. 

The design symbolized Israeli innova- 

Continued 


30 


Commemorative medal issued 



Image courtesy Mel Wacks 
Silver-plated full-color Proof 
quality 39 millimeter-diameter 
medals were sold in the Israel 
Pavilion during the Expo, and 
featured the beautiful and in- 
novative “seas hell” pavilion 
structure - designed by Haim 
Dotan, a pioneering Israeli 
architect, in collaboration with 
medal designer Prosper Amir. 


Continued 

tion and technology as well as represent- 
ing the dialogue between humanity and 
nature, the earth and sky, as well as the 
past and the future. 

The design of Israel’s Pavilion made 
several Top 10 lists of Best Pavilion De- 
sign, according to news reports. 

The pavilion highlighted both innova- 
tion and ancient Jewish culture. Specific 
spaces within the pavilion were organized 
along the following themes: the Whisper- 
ing Garden, the Hall of Light and the Hall 
of Innovations. 

The Whispering Garden was an orchard 
of orange trees that greeted visitors as they 
entered the building. Inside the natural 
stone structure was the Hall of Innova- 
tions, symbolizing links with the earth 
and history, and the recycling of natural 
resources. 

Under the transparent glass was the Hall 
of Light, symbolizing technology, trans- 


parency, lightness and the future. 

A green orchard came into view as 
visitors entered the pavilion. About 50 
orange trees were planted, and technology 
made the trees “whisper” in English and 
Chinese when visitors walked close to 
them — putting each visitor in direct touch 
with nature and the irrigation technology 
that has allowed great regions of agricul- 
tural production in Israel and that Israelis 
take pride in. 

The 5.28 square kilometers of land 
occupied by the Shanghai Expo 2010 
flank both sides of the Huangpu River in 
downtown Shanghai, a city of 14.6 million 
people. 

Israel’s pavilion was one of 246 in the 
Expo, and many, like Israel’s, were built 
in the a futuristic style of architecture - 
sparked by the extraordinary architecture 
of the buildings constructed for the 2008 
Beijing Summer Olympic Games. 

Continued 


31 




EXTRAORDINARY WORKS ON DISPLAY 



An exhibit with two pages of Albert Einstein s 
transformational 1915 paper on the General 
Theory of Relativity, on loan from the Hebrew 
Museum of Jerusalem, was on display at the 
Shanghai Expo 2010. At right, the obverse of 
a 1979 East German 5 -mark commemorative 
coin, one of several issued to honor the centen- 
nial of the great scientist s birth. 


Continued 

The Israel Pavilion was located adja- 
cent to the Pakistan Pavilion and in close 
proximity to the Pavilions of Oman and 
Sri Lanka. 

For scientists and science buffs, the Hall 
of Light within the Israel Pavilion had two 
pages of the original manuscript of Albert 
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity on 
display. 

This theory, first published in 1916, 
expanded upon Einstein’s ground-break- 
ing 1905 paper on the Special Theory of 


k IX 



Relativity, and laid out a new view of the 
cosmos based not on Newton’s Laws, 
but on the four-dimensional concept of 
spacetime that revolutionized the scientific 
view of gravity. 

“General relativity may be the biggest 

Continued 


32 


Pavilion reflects gravity’s new view 



Albert Einstein, a champion of Israel and one of the greatest scientists of all time, changed 
forever humanity’s perception of space, time and gravity with his 1916 papers on the 
General Theory of Relativity. Gravity was not controlled by Newtonian forces, rather, 
gravity was an effect of mass (objects) warping the four-dimensional spacetime continuum. 
If these words boggle, fear not. Not even Einstein could visualize four dimensions. But we 
can imagine the two-dimensional surface of a flat plane, like a trampoline, distorted by the 
presence of a dense sphere, a high-school track team shotput, perhaps, or a bowling ball. 


Continued 

leap of the scientific imagination in his- 
tory,” wrote Alan Lightman, a physicist 
and professor of humanities at the Massa- 
chusetts of Technology for the PBS televi- 
sion show NOVA in June 2005. “Unlike 
many previous scientific breakthroughs, 
such as the principle of natural selection, 
or the discovery of the physical existence 
of atoms, general relativity had little foun- 
dation upon the theories or experiments of 
the time. 

“No one except Einstein was thinking of 
gravity as equivalent to acceleration, as a 
geometrical phenomenon, as a bending of 
time and space.” 

To expand on that thought, the concept 
of General Relativity can be viewed with 
an analogy elementary school students can 
comprehend. 

In the great tradition of Einstein’s 
“thought experiments” visualize a large 
but very responsive trampoline. A bowling 
ball placed in the middle of the tram- 


poline’s field of flexible fabric creates a 
depression, just like in the drawing above. 

The experimenter, an elementary-grade 
student perhaps, then rolls a marble at 
just the right speed toward the bowling 
ball. When the marble reaches the edge 
of the bowling ball’s depressed “field”, 
the marble’s linear course changes. The 
marble swerves and goes into “orbit” 
around the bowling ball. 

This same effect, but in four-dimen- 
sional spacetime, is what makes planets 
orbit stars, stars orbit the center of galaxies 
and galaxies orbit the center of mass of 
galactic clusters. 

Einstein’s radical recasting of one of the 
most fundamental concepts of our cosmos 
changed science forever. 

To have pages from Einstein’s actual 
1915 paper on general relativity on display 
proved to be a great attraction for many 
visitors to Israel’s Pavilion and highlighted 
many of Israel’s other technical accom- 


33 


Continued 


Expo drew 73 million visitors in 2010 



Image courtesy Mel Wacks 

The reverse of a special commemorative medal sold 
at the Israel Pavilion during the Shanghai 2010 Expo 
proclaims the Expo s central theme: Better City, Better 
Life; a fitting them for a world fair hosted by one of 
the worlds largest, and recently, most economomically 
dynamic cities. Shanghai s population: XX millon. 


Continued 

plishments. 

“Einstein’s theory of relativity 
has been a great inspiration for 
Israel innovators,” said Yaffa Ben- 
Ari, deputy commissioner-general 
of the Israel Pavilion. 

The two pages, selected 
from a total of 46 in the paper, 
contain Einstein’s famous equa- 
tion E=mc 2 which describes 
the relationship between energy 
(E), mass (M) and the speed of 
light (C). 

Einstein’s wife Elsa donated 
the 46-page handwritten manu- 
script to Hebrew University at 
its opening in 1925, three years 
after Einstein was awarded the 
1 92 1 Nobel Prize in physics 
(the award had been with- 
held in 1921 and was awarded 
retroactively in 1922). Ein- 
stein, of course, helped establish Hebrew 
University of Jerusalem with Dr. Chaim 
Weitzmann. 

Displaying at the Shanghai Expo 2010 
two of the 46 pages of the paper Einstein 
wrote in longhand at his home in Berlin 
in 1916 brought full circle a little known 
coincidence: 

On Nov. 13, 1922, Einstein was in 
Shanghai en route to Japan. That day in 
Shanghai, the Swedish Consul tracked 
Einstein down to inform him that he had 
just won the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics. 

The Israel Pavilion’s Hall of Light also 
featured a 15-meter screen that showed 


films highlighting the country’s innova- 
tions and technological achievements. 

Considered by Israel’s pavilion design- 
ers as the centerpiece of the pavilion, the 
Hall of Innovations offered an audiovisual 
show that gave visitors the opportunity to 
hear from Israeli children, scientists, doc- 
tors and inventors through digital presen- 
tations on hundreds of video screens. 

The Hall’s light spheres represented 
innovation as well as technical break- 
throughs in agriculture, food, pharmacolo- 
gy, solar and green energy, science, music, 
literature, high-tech, telecommunication 
and security. 


34 


Continued 


Einstein twice in Shanghai 


Continued 

Another exhibit popular with visitors 
featured an “edible” capsule containing a 
mini-camera for internal medical diag- 
noses. (After recording date, the camera 
would be discharged naturally, causing no 
real pain for the patient.). 

Shanghai’s Expo 2010 officially closed on 
the last day of October 20 1 0. But Expo Shang- 
hai 20 1 0 organizers plan to open a permanent 
museum in the city in 2012. Included in the 
museum’s permanent displays will be a ver- 
sion of the of the two pages of Einstein’s hand- 
written General Theory of Relativity exhibited 
at the Israel Pavilion at Expo 2010. 

‘Hebrew University in Jerusalem, which 
owns the manuscript, has agreed to donate it to 
enhance the bond between Israel and China,” 
said Yaffa Ben-Ari, deputy commissioner- 
general of the Israel Pavilion. ID) 


Shanghai, 

NOV. 13, 1922: 
Albert Einstein is in 

SHANGHAI EN ROUTE 
TO JAPAN. A BULLETIN 
FLASHES AROUND THE 

globe. The Swedish 

CONSUL BRINGS HIM 
THE NEWS: EINSTEIN 
HAS JUST WON 
THE 1921 NOBEL PRIZE 
FOR PHYSICS. 


JOIN NOW! 

AINA MEMBERS RECEIVE 6 ISSUES ANNUALLY OF THE SHEKEL 
MAGAZINE, PLUS A FREE ANNUAL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL! 

It’s EASY! Just fill in the blanks below!! 

“I want to join AINA and receive The Shekel magazine for a full year!” 

U.S., Canada S18 one-year, $34 two-years; Overseas: $25 one-year, $48 two-years 

FREE AGES 13-19; $300 Life Member; VISA/MC 


NAME: STREET 

CITY: STATE ZIP/CODE 

COUNTRY E-mail: 


Make checks payable to: AINA, PO Box 20255, Fountain Hills, AZ, 85269, USA 
Or call in your Credit Card information to (818) 225-1348. 

DON’T WAIT, DO IT TODAY!!! 

33 


Harbin s 

dramatic 
token 

Image courtesy Alex Ben-Arieh 
Harbin, Chinas Jewish Musical 
Dramatic Society issued a hard-to- 
find 25 millimeter copper token in the 
early 20th century, perhaps between 
the two World Wars. The reverse of the 
token shows a crowned figure, carry- 
ing a scepter and lyre, with a Russian 
legend CZAR [KING] DA V1D. 



By ALEX BEN-ARIEH 


I ews began arriving in the Chinese 
city of Harbin in 1899, following China’s 
granting of a concession to Russia to build 
a railway station there. The Jewish com- 


munity there developed quickly, particu- 
larly due to anti-Semitism in Czarist Rus- 
sia. Of note, the Jews developed Harbin’s 
cultural life such that by the 1920’s the 
city was known as the “Paris of the Ori- 

Continued 


36 


Art’s brief flourish in Harbin 



Harbin, Chinas Musical and Dramatic Society issued a commemo- 
rative token with Russian and Chinese legends on the obverse. 


Continued 

ent” and the “City of Music.” 

Sources note that Harbin’s Jew- 
ish community created a Jewish 
cultural club known by its abbrevia- 
tion “Yilmadag” (which is similar 
sounding to the abbreviations used 
on this token), which presented 
lectures in Russian and Yiddish, 
dramatic performances and musical 
evenings. 

This copper 25.5-millimeter, 7.6 
-gram, token was likely produced 
in between 1910 and the sometime 
in the 1920s and is probably con- 
nected to the activities of Joseph 
Kaspe. 

Kaspe was the owner of Har- 
bin’s premier and luxurious “Hotel Mod- 
erne,” which played host to many of the 
city’s musical and dramatic productions. 

His son, Simon, was a gifted pianist 
who was kidnapped by anti-Semitic 
White-Russian elements in 1933, held 
for ransom and murdered. Of Harbin’s 
Jewish heritage perhaps the most well 
known former residents are the parents 
of Israel’s former Prime Minister, Ehud 
01 inert. 

The token’s obverse bears a legend 
in Russian around the edge (partially 
abbreviated) that translates as JEW[ISH] 


‘The son of the resort 
where the Society’s 
performances were 
staged was kidnapped 
and murdered by 
AntiS emitic White- 
Russians in 1933. ’ 


MUS[ICAL]-DRAMAT[IC] SOCIETY HARBIN, 
with two Chinese characters in the center, 
separated by a dot between them. 

The reverse features an image of a 
crowned figure with lyre and a Russian 
legend CZAR [KING] DAVID - possibly 


the name of the society. 

Oddly, the Russian lettering on the 
reverse is written right-to-left, the way 
Hebrew would be written. The token has a 
plain edge and rim. This rarity is valued at 
about $800. nu 


37 


A.I.NA. 

Marketplace 

The numismatic dealers, companies and organizations listed below support AINA and we 
encourage our members to use their services. Please mention that you saw their ad in The 
Shekel when you contact them. If your company would like to support AINA and get new 
clients, the cost for a Marketplace ad is only $200 per year. The cost for a full-page ad 
is just $750 per year. Your ad will be seen by more than 1,000 readers six times per year. 
Contact Mel Wacks at (818) 225-1348 or send an e-mail to: ainapresident@gmail.com. 



The Highland Mint produces medals of top 
quality at a remarkably low cost. They are the 
official minter for AINA and the Jewish-American 
Hall of Fame. 

Contact Vince Bohbot, Vice-President, at (800) 
544-6135 and tell him that you are a member of 
AINA to get a special deal. 


OUTSTANDING JUDAICA on EBAY with pictures, information, pricing on our website or by mail. 
JEWISH MADE WWII GERMAN FAKE OPERATION BERNHARD £5 Ebay #250296538401 
PRECURSOR ISRAEL MONEY 5 & 10 LIROT ERETZ YISRAELI 1947 Ebay #260099664569 
WORKS of Art from HOUGHTON JEWS CHRISTIE’S 1994 BOUND Ebay # 250270708594 
JEWISH (BARZILAI) LIRE MONETA PATRIOTTICA 1848 VENICE Ebay # 260105316304 
1 850 FRANZ JOSEPH I OFFICIAL PASSPORT FOR ISRAEL HERZL Ebay #260272223905 
DENMARK JEWISH COMMUNITY WWII RESCUE-SILVER MEDAL Ebay # 260112898417 
UNC ISRAEL 1 SHEKEL (P51-A) PORTFOLIO with COIN & STAMP Ebay # 260138703127 
#1 MONEY MAN, PO Box 4075, Fort Myers, FL - 33918 - Ph: 1-239-313-9899 
Email: Info@NumberOneMoneyMan.com or Website: http://www.NumberOneMoneyMan.com 

Collector interested in buying Judaica 
tokens, scrip, stocks, medals and ancient coins; 
especially Judaeans and City coins* 

Contact Stuart: (516) 885-4144 (NY) or email: smhswein@aol.com 



THE TOKEN AND MEDAL SOCIETY (TAMS) 

Publishes a bimonthly journal, has a library available to members, 
and an annual meeting at the ANA. TAMS and AINA jointly sponsor 
the Ben Odesser Award for the Best Article in ‘The Shekel.” Dues 
are $25 (U.S.) and $30 (non-U.S.) Send to TAMS, % Mark Ughter- 
man, 5224 W. State Rd. 46, No. 408, Sanford, FL 32771 . 


38 




David Hendins GUIDE to BIBLICAL COINS 

From your favorite dealer, 
the publisher, or Amazon.com 

Amphora • P.O. Box 805 • Nyack, NY 10960 

AmphoraCoins@aol.com 


^IRA & LARKX>, 

GoldberG 

AUCTIONEERS 

Accepting consignments of Ancient, World and U.S. Coins for our three 
major auctions held each year. Specializing in Ancient Judean Coins. Member PNG, 

Life Members ANA. A family tradition since 1931. 

350 S. Beverly Dr., #350 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (800) 978-2646 Fax (310) 551-2626 
Visit our website: www.goldbergcoins.com 



WILLIAM ROSENBLUM/RARE COINS 
P.O. Box 785, Littleton, CO 8OI6O-O785 
Tel 720-981-0785 Fax 720-981-5345 
www.rosenblumcoins.com - bill@rosenblumcoins.com 
For the past 30 years we have been the world’s leading dealer in all aspects of Ancient 
judaea, Israel, Palestine and Judaica (including the Holocaust) as related to coins, 
medals, banknotes, tokens, etc. Life Member of ANA, former member Board of Directors 
of AINA, Member International Association of Professional Numismatists. 





Commemoratives International, 


Ltd. 


Dealers in Israel Coins, Banknotes & Collectibles since 1947 


Hamden Center II 
2321 Whitney Ave Suite 505 
Hamden, CT 06518 
Phone (203) 230-0221 
Fax (203) 248-6628 


Visit our website: 
WWW.COMMEM.COM 
E-mail: 

coins @commem.com 


J0F- 


Holy Half Shekels 


bi<(7ei>ivTu 


The Holy Half Shekel, “the very foundation of our entire Service to G-d” 
(the Lubavitcher Rebbe) has been restored. Each year a new Holy Half 
Shekel is minted featuring on the obverse a different vessel that has been 
restored to physical reality for the Third Temple Era. 


Sponsor a soldier with Beged Ivri’s Mahatzit Hashekel L’Chayal (A Holy Half 
Shekel for a soldier) campaign. 

P.O.Box 28052 Jerusalem, Israel 011-972-2-625-8943 begedivri@hotmail.com begedivri.com 


39 


Jerusalem 

in 

Gold 


ISRAEL JOINS AN 
EXCLUSIVE CLUB 
BY ISSUING ITS 
FIRST GOLD 
BULLION COIN 

BY SHULA KOPF 

The /erusalem report 

J erusalem of Gold is Israel's first 
one-ounce, 24-carat gold bullion 
coin launched by the Bank of Israel 
in May 2010. 

The limited-edition coin, the first in a 
future series, depicts the Tower of David, 
its sculpted image floating above a mirror- 
like field. The image is rendered in such 
detail that one can almost count the bricks 
of the Old City walls. 

The obverse shows the image of the 
roaring lion of Megiddo with its stylized 



Israel s first gold bullion coin, the 2010 Jemsalem of 
Gold one-counce 24-karat gold with the Lion obverse. 

curving tail, replicated from a 2,800-year- 
old ancient seal. 

A bullion coin is valued by its mass and 
purity rather than by a face value and the 
price of the Jerusalem of Gold coin fluctu- 
ates daily depending on the international 
price of gold as set at morning in London, 
plus a 20-percent markup. 

As this issue went to press, the price of 
an ounce of gold was [$1,534], 

In order to be considered legal tender 

Continued 


40 


Coins display important imagery 



The reverse of Israel s first 24-karat gold 
bullion coin, the Temple of David issued in 
2010, features the Temple of David is fine 
detail. The one-ounce . 9999 fine gold coins 
carry a denomination of 20 New Sheqalim, 
which is far from the coin s actual value, 
but is necessary to bear in order to mon- 
etize the bullion coins. 


Continued 

a coin must have a face value. But for 
bullion coins, this is usually irrelevant; the 
Jerusalem of Gold was given a face value 
of 20 New Sheqalim. 

Only 3,600 such coins will ever be 
minted for each issue, making the Je- 
rusalem of Gold series issues relatively 
rare and giving each a numismatic value 
beyond the price of the gold content. 

Since Israel does not have a minting 
facility, the Jerusalem of Gold coins are 
manufactured at the Royal Dutch Mint in 
Utrecht. 

There are four more bullion coins 
planned in the Jerusalem of Gold series in 
the upcoming four years. 

While Israel does issue other gold coins, 
they are 22-carat, [rather than pure gold 
(24-carat) that may investors prefer].” 

The launch of the coin was a stroke 
of great timing. Gold gained almost 30 
percent in 2010, reaching a then-record 


$1,431.25 an ounce as investors rushed 
to purchase bullion as a safe haven for in- 
vestment and as a hedge against weaken- 
ing currencies. 

The metal’s mounting value is linked to 
its economic role as a stable alternative to 
paper currencies, and gold’s rise speaks 
volumes about the health of the global 
monetary system. 

Old coins have been used as money 
since the dawn of history, only to fall out 
of favor in the early 20th century about 
the same time that British economist John 
Maynard Keynes dismissed gold as a 
“barbaric relic.” 

Today there are about a dozen countries 
that continue to have legal tender gold 
coins, but they are minted primarily for 
collectors and for investment purposes 
rather than for shopping at the local mall. 

Among Israel’s formidable competitors 
in the gold bullion business are the U.S. 

Continued 


41 


Cultural, art icons portrayed 



Other limited issue gold coins from Israel are struck 
on 22-karat planchets like the commemorative hon- 
oring Israel s 60th anniversary, above and are not 
considered in the strictest sense as bullion. 


Continued 

with its iconic American Eagle, 

Canada with the Maple Leaf, 

China with the Panda, Australia 
with the Gold Nugget and South 
Africa with the Krugerrand. 

“We are only a minor player in 
the international gold coin market, 
which is a $ 160 billion-a-year 
industry,” says Arthur Boxer, CEO 
of Israel Coins and Medals Corpo- 
ration (ICMC). 

“But this first bullion coin puts 
Israel on the map.” 

This year, Boxer will travel the 
world showcasing Israel’s coin 
collection at trade shows in Berlin, 

New York, Tokyo, Singapore, 

Chicago and Beijing. 

And even in its reactively lim- 
ited capacity, ICMC is happy to jump on 
the gold trend. 

It has been advertising the gold coins 
both locally and internationally. Aimed at 
gold investors with a soft spot for Israel, 
the advertising tag line says, “Now more 
than ever - the gold coins of Israel.” 

While the US Mint sold 38 tons worth 
of American Eagle bullion coins last year, 
the neophyte Jerusalem of Gold coin sold 
a mere $5 million’s worth. 

“But it’ s a start,” says Boxer with unfal- 
tering enthusiasm. 

The phone lines crashed on the propi- 
tious date that the ICMC began selling 
the Jerusalem of Gold coin, says Rivka 
Toledano, the company’s international 
sales manager. 


The first date of sale was May 12, Jeru- 
salem Day, commemorating the recapture 
of Jerusalem in the 1 967 Six Day War. 

“We were overwhelmed by the recep- 
tion. Distributors in Germany and the US 
wanted to buy large quantities, probably 
because it was a first of its kind and has a 
beautiful design, but we limited the sales 
to no more than five coins per customer. 

It wasn’t only Jews who were interested; 
there was enthusiasm in the general mar- 
ket, particularly in Germany, the US and 
Poland,” Toledano says. 

Lior Lichtman, head of the Issue Unit in 
the Currency Department of the Bank of 
Israel, points out that most other countries 
mint bullion coins in unlimited quantities 
with a constant, unchanging design. The 

Continued 


42 


Bullion gold limited to 3,600 per issue 

Continued 


Bank of Israel, however, will release only 
the planned 3,600 coins each year - 3,600 
being a multiple of 1 8, symbolic of the 
Hebrew word hai, which means life. The 
bank’s advisory committee, headed by 
former Supreme Court Justice Yaakov 
Turkel, will choose a different Jerusalem 
site each year for the series, while the 
obverse side, with its roaring lion, will 
remain constant. 

According to Lichtman, their rarity 
gives the coins a numismatic value beyond 
their gold content. Investment bullion 
coins with no numismatic value, such as 
the American Eagle for example, Don- 
nally sell at a four percent premium. The 
Franklin Mint in Pennsylvania advertises 
the “first ever Israeli bullion” for $2,799, 
almost $ 1 ,200 more than the Israeli price 
of $ 1 ,626 at the time of publication. 

When purchasing the coins. Israelis 
must pay an additional 16 percent value 
added tax (VAT). But, in any case, gold is 
not a popular investment vehicle for the 
average Israeli investor, says Nir Zonnen- 
berg, head of research for Meitav Invest- 
ment House. 

The whole subject of commodities is 
less developed in Israel than in the US and 
Europe,” Zonnenberg tells The Report. 

“The Israeli capital market is still in its 
infancy and Israelis don’t usually invest 
in commodities such as wheat, soy beans, 
sugar and so forth. Just about the only 
commodities they do invest in are oil and 
gold. Most Israelis who invest in gold do 
so through Exchange Traded funds (ETF) 


such as GLD and gold related mutual 
funds,” he says. 

An ETF is an investment fund traded 
on stock exchanges much like stocks and 
tracks the price of the underlying asset or 
index, gold in this case. 

Many gold bugs shun ETFs and prefer 
to own physical gold, despite US tycoon 
Warren Buffett’s famous dismissal of 
the yellow metal as something that gets 
dug out of a hole, then melted, and then 
stashed away in another hole with people 
paid to guard it. 

The Bank of Israel does not seem to be a 
big fan of gold either. Unlike other central 
banks around the world, which have be- 
gun to increase their gold holdings, Israel 
holds no gold reserves at all, according to 
a Bank of Israel spokesman. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
regularly maintains statistics of national 
assets as reported by various countries 
and, according to the IMF, Lebanon has 
286.8 tons; Egypt, 75 tons and Cyprus 
almost 14 tons. 

The Bank of Israel prefers to keep its 
gold dealings limited to issuing gold coins 
and the next bullion coin in the Jerusalem 
of Gold series will be issued in late spring 
2011, set to coincide with Jerusalem Day, 
which will be celebrated on June I. 

This coin will depict the Western Wall, a 
theme sure to ignite the collecting pas- 
sions of Jewish coin collectors around the 
world. 

Mel Wacks, president of the American 
Israel Numismatic Association, which has 
800 members, is excited about Israel’s first 

Continued 


43 


arts, Nobel prize winners shown 



Among the cultural achievements celebrated on Israel s 
22-karat gold coinage are accdlades for writers and 
the arts, as above. 


Continued 

bullion coin. 

“It puts Israel in league with 
the big players, China, America 
and Canada and exposes Israel 
to a bigger audience,” he tells 
The Jerusalem Report in a 
telephone interview from Los 
Angeles. 

“The mintage of only 3,600 
is minuscule. When the Chinese 
Panda came out as a bullion 
coin with a mintage of 25,000, 
everyone thought it was a small 
amount, and that’s selling for 
over $2,000 a coin. Israel is go- 
ing to change the design every 
year and that’s a big plus that 
will make the coins desirable for 
collectors. 

“If you add in the tiny mint- 
age, in the long run it will increase in 
value above and beyond the value of the 
gold. But what thrills me the most is that 
our coins tell the story of Israel and the 
Jewish people.” 

The ICMC was founded in 1958 by 
prime minister David Ben Gurion, with a 
mandate to commemorate the country’s 
history and culture and to mark national 
events and milestones. 

The very first medal issued that year to 
celebrate the country’s 10th year anniver- 
sary, settled an old score with the Romans. 
The Roman Emperor issued the infamous 
Judaea Capta (Judaea in Captivity) coin 
to celebrate the repression of the Jewish 
rebellion in 70 CE. 


On that coin, issued in great quantities 
as a propaganda tool, the Romans depicted 
a Jewish captive, hands bound behind his 
back, and a second captive, a despondent 
woman seated under a palm tree, weeping 
for the destruction of her homeland. 

Modem Israel’s answer was a medal 
duplicating the Judaea Capta coin on 
one side, and on the other side, with the 
title Israel Liberata, instead of the Jewish 
captive, a proud fanner planting a tree, 
and instead of the woman in mourning, 
a young woman standing up holding her 
child aloft. The medal was issued in three 
versions: copper, silver and gold. 

The first Israeli gold coin was issued in 
1 960 to honor Theodore Herzl on the cen- 

Continued 


44 


Achievement key in designs 

Continued 


tennial of his birth. It was not considered a 
bullion coin since it was struck in 22-carat 
gold rather than 24-carat gold. 

“There is no other nation that 1 know 
of whose culture, history, symbols and 
iconography are expressed in their coins 
to the extent that they are in Israeli coins,” 
says Yossef Attali, former vice president of 
the 1CMC. 

In ancient times, the Jews minted bronze 
and silver coins rather than gold, which 
was too expensive. 

“It would have been like walking about 
with a $1,000 bill in your pocket,” says 
Wacks, who has written a book called 
Handbook of Biblical Numismatics (avail- 
able online for free). 

During the latter part of the sixth to 
fourth centuries BCE, when Judaea was 
part of the Persian empire, small silver 
coins were struck by an autonomous Jew- 
ish authority with the permission of the 
Persians. 

Under the Hasmonean Kingdom, the 
Jews minted small bronze coins. During 
the revolt against the Romans, beginning 
in 66 CE, the Jews made the famous silver 
shekel and half shekel coins. 

They also made silver coins during the 
Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 to 135 CE tak- 
ing Roman and Syrian silver coins, filing 
off the design and restriking them with 
Jewish motifs, he says. 

In the Torah, gold is the most frequently 
mentioned metal and makes its first ap- 
pearance in the Bible in Genesis 2: 1 1 in 
the Garden of Eden. 


Moses used gold beaten into plates 
and sheets for the construction of the 
Tabernacle, as described in Exodus. In 
Kings I 10: 16, we are told that David set 
aside 100,000 talents of gold to build the 
Temple in Jerusalem. 

Since a talent is considered to be about 


‘ There is no other 
nation that I know of 
whose culture, his- 
tory, symbols and 
iconography are ex- 
pressed in their coins 
to the extent that they 
are in Israeli coins. ’ 

- Yossef Attali 


75 pounds, in today’s prices that would 
come to about $1.6 billion. According to 
Kings I, the weight of gold that Solomon 
received in one year was 636 talents - or 
$9.6 billion in today’s values. 

The Bank of Israel can only dream of 
Solomon’s lost talents of gold. 

Besides the new Jerusalem of Gold 
bullion coin, it makes do with issuing 
five commemorative coins a year in five 
different series: Biblical stories, UNESCO 
world heritage sites in Israel, Indepen- 
dence Day, Israeli Nobel Prize laureates 
and one ad-hoc series. 

The coins are issued in minuscule 

Continued 


45 


Israel gold coins 

Continued 

mintages of only 444 or 555 and contain 
half an ounce of 22-carat gold. Because 
of their rarity they are sold at about a 75 
percent premium over the value of the 
gold content. 

Boxer estimates that Jewish collectors 
around the world hold about four billion 
shekels worth of gold and silver coins that 
were purchased over the years from the 
1CMC and are held in safe deposit boxes 
and desk drawers. 

He arrives at that figure by halving the 
amount purchased over the years, reason- 
ing that at least half the coins have already 
been sold for their melt value. 

The ICMC was a government agency 
until 2008 when the company was priva- 
tized and bought by G.R.A.S. Design 
Combinations, Ltd., best known as a 
manufacturer of Israeli-designed sterling 
silver and gold jewelry with more than 70 
retail outlets in the country. 

G.R.A.S. beat out 13 competitors and 
is now the sole distributor of Israeli coins 
and commemorative medals. 

There is general consensus that G.R.A.S 
bought new energy and marketing savvy 
to what was a lackluster government 
agency. 

“1 think the people of G.R.A.S. are 
determined to make it a financial suc- 
cess and they have brought in innovative 
marketing,” says Wacks. “They can’t do 
everything they want to do, since they are 
limited by the Bank of Israel, which is 
very conservative in its approach. 

“Our organization has a quarterly 
magazine called The Shekel and G.R.A.S. 

46 


popular in China 

offered us money to print it in full color 
rather than black and white, and it’s gor- 
geous now.” 

One of G.R.A.S.’s innovations was 
smart-looking gift packaging, which 
turned Israeli coins and medals into an im- 
pressive gift for business contacts abroad. 
The Japanese especially like the Masada 
coin, which they connect with their own 
Mount Fuji and their tradition of hara kiri, 
says Boxer. 

Hidden in the inventory of the ICMC, 
along with the crates filled with old 
out-of-circulation coins, the new owners 
found an overlooked treasure: a trademark 
- Holyland Mint - registered in 2000 for 
the historic five-day visit of Pope John 
Paul II. 

Hearts open up to Israeli coins in the 
most unlikely places. When Boxer travels 
this year to the Beijing International Coin 
Exposition he is likely to meet one of the 
world’s most ardent collectors of Israeli 
coins, Xu Long, the head chef of catering 
in China’s parliament building, the Great 
Hall of People. 

When he isn’t cooking Peking Duck, 

Xu Long devotes his time to his pas- 
sion - Israeli coins. Xu Long has written 
a 575-page hardback book in Chinese on 
the subject, Money of Ancient Judaea and 
Israel. The book has had a place of honor 
on the bookshelf in Lichtman’s office in 
the Bank of Israel building ever since Xu 
Long presented Lichtman with a copy 
during a visit to Israel in 2009. nu 

Adapted and reprinted with permission 
ofShula Kopf and The Jerusalem Report. 


A STAMP FOR EVERY COIN 


Special Souvenir Stamp Sheets in Limited Editions, 
In honor of the Coins issued by the Bank of Israel 



THE DEAD SEA 
COIN 


GYMNASTICS 

COIN 


THE FIRST 
BULLION, 

TOWER OF DAVID 


JONAH IN THE 
WHALE 


MENACHEM 

BEGIN 




E 

4- 

1 Vi 

•4 

i 



i 

n 

\ Q 

E 







In 

"WC, 1 

1 


| 









B . 

B 



THE HOLY LAND MINT 
ICMC - SOLE DISTRIBUTOR OF COINS ISSUED BY THE BANK OF ISRAEL 


since 


1958 


www.israelmint.com Tel. 972-4-8212807 







Relive the past 

Preserve the present 
Ensure the future 


THE HOLY LAND MINT 
ICMC - SOLE DISTRIBUTOR OF COINS ISSUED BY THE BANK OF ISRAEL 


www.israelmint.com Tel. 972-4-821 2807 


Oklahoma! 


Coin Club medal celebrates diversity 



A ringed bimetallic medal was issued in 2008 by the Oklahoma City Coin Club to honor its 70th anniversary and 
the wealth of cultural diversity that gave the club, and the larger community, long life and prosperity. 


Rosh Hashonah services were first held 
in Oklahoma City in 1890. The Hebrew 
Cemetery Association was founded there 
in 1 902, and in the following year Temple 
B’nai Israel was organized. Today, Hey- 
man Street, runs through an area in a 
Federal housing project. A Jewish Tour- 
ists Guide to the U.S. by Bernard Postal 
and Lionel Koppman says this street was 
“named for Seymour Heyman, one of the 
city’s early merchants and civic leaders. 
Described as ‘one of the city builders,’ 
Heyman organized the city’s first social 
agency, headed the Oklahoma City Cham- 
ber of Commerce and the Board of Educa- 
tion, and was one of the pioneer advocates 
of public education. He was generally 


known as ‘Mr. Oklahoma City.’” 

The Oklahoma City Coin Club issued a 
medallion to celebrate its 70th anniversary 
in 2008. Interestingly the Hebrew equiva- 
lent of 76 (ayin-vav) is included, along 
with 7 1 in Roman numerals, 72 in Arabic, 
73 in Sanskrit, 74 in Chinese, 75 in 
Korean, and the symbol for infinity, along 
with the legend 70 YEARS AND COUNTING. 
The languages symbolize the club’s multi- 
national membership and growth since its 
organization in 1938. 

The 39 millimeter bimetallic medal con- 
sists of a copper-nickel ring surrounding a 
brass center. For further information, con- 
tact the Oklahoma City Coin Club, P.O. 
Box 20816, Oklahoma City, OK 73 1 56.fm 


47 


PROF LE: VLADIMIR BERNSHTAM 


Vladimir Bemshtam was bom in 1952 
in the city of Kharkov in the Ukraine into a 
family of physicians. His father entered the 
Kharkov Medical Institute after the demobili- 
zation from the Soviet Army in 1946, where 
he served in an anti-aircraft artillery unit of 
the Red Army from 1939 through WWI1 on 
the front lines. It was at the Medical Institute 
where Vladimir’s father met his mother, who 
had entered the Institute after graduating from 
secondary school. A strong connection to 
being Jewish was instilled in Vladimir as a 
young child from his grandfather, with whom 
the family lived. Every evening, Vladimir 
would sit with his grandfather who would 
listen to a radio program, “Voice of Israel,” in 
Russian. 

As a child, Vladimir became involved in 
becoming a collector through his father, who 
had started collecting coins at the end of the 
war in Poland. Together, they began to collect 
stamps and stamps of Israel in particular. As 
far back as Vladimir can remember, he and his 
dad attended a local club of collectors every 
Sunday where they would search for items 
needed for their collections. They even man- 
aged to acquire some coins from Israel when 
coins from Israel did not appear anywhere in 
the Soviet Union until the late 1980s. 

It was in 1 969 that Vladimir entered the 
Physics Department of the Kharkov State 
University and graduated in 1974 with 
Honors. In 1983, he received a PhD degree in 
physics and mathematics from Donetsk State 
University. During his college years, Vladimir 
met and married Tamara in 1973. Together 
they have two children, one grandson and one 
granddaughter. Tamara tolerates his hobby 
of collecting with a lot of understanding, and 
together, they have assembled several col- 
lections. In Vladimir’s own words, “they do 
everything together.” 



Vladimir and Tamara Bemshtam enjoying 
collecting with their grandchildren. 


The family emigrated to Israel in 1994, and 
it was in that year that Vladimir joined the 
Plasma Physics Laboratory of the Weizmann 
Institute of Science, where he works still to 
this day. To date, Vladimir has coauthored 
more than 50 articles in various scientific 
journals and has 24 inventions. 

To Vladimir’s regret, it was not possible 
for him to bring his collections to Israel from 
Russia, so he has had to start over gathering 
new coins, banknotes, and stamps. He has also 
begun collecting badges and insignia of the 
Israel Defense Forces, and medals and tokens 
connected with the history of Israel and Jews 
of the Diaspora. He has also added First Day 
Covers to enhance his stamp collecting. 

In the last few years, Vladimir has started 
to collaborate with a Russian magazine for 
collectors entitled, “The Petersburg Collector,” 
in which he has published nearly 10 articles 
on the collecting of Israeli medals, tokens, and 
other collection materials. 

He has delivered numerous lectures on 
numismatics and bonistics for children, and 
together with experts in the field, has taught 
about the use of coins and banknotes in his 
teaching of mathematics. But most of all, 
Vladimir enjoys teaching and sharing his 
numismatic knowledge with his two grand- 
children. 

Written by Donna J. Sims, NLG 


48 




Bar Kochba Revolt (132- 1 35 CE). 

AR sela ( 14.36 gm) 

Undated, attributed to year 3 (134/5 CE). 
‘Mildenberg 69 (014/R54). TJC 267a. Hendin 711. 
www. HA . com/30 1 2 *24546 
Sold for: 3,450 



Bar Kochba Revolt ( 132-135 CE). 

32 mm (27.23 gm). 

Year 1 (132/3 CE). 

Mildenberg 2 (Ol/R2). TJC 220. Hendin 677. 
www. HA.com/ 30 12*24553 
Sold for: $5,463 



Jewish War (66-70 CE) 
AR shekel (13.88 gm) 
Year 3 (68/9 CE) 

TJC 202. Hendin 662. 
www.HA.com/ 30 12- *24539 
Sold for: $4,025 


Judean Highlights 
of Heritage Auctions' 
Official Auction 
at the 2011 NYINC 



Bar Kochba Revolt ( 132-135 CE). 

AR sela (14.12 gm) 

Undated, attributed to year 3 ( 134/5 CE). 


Mildenberg 87 (01 2/R67). TJC 267a. Hendin 711. 
www.HA.com/3012-24545 
Sold for: $4,312 


Visit our Auction Archives at HA.com to view our incredible 
photography and for prices realized research. 

Your consignment could realize such spectacular results in one of our 
upcoming auctions. I invite your confidential inquiry to discuss your 
consignment. Heritage offers the highest standards of cataloging and 
photography, the widest possible exposure to collectors at all levels, 
and speedy, assured payment - all at very competitive terms. Your 
consignment can reach our global community of 500,000+ bidder- 
members in 181 countries. Call today. 


Free Catalog Offer for New Clients ($50 Value) please submit past auction invoices 
of $1,000 + in this category from any source by mail, fax 214-409-1425 or by calling 
866-835-3243. For more details go to www.HA.com/FCO. 



David S. Michaels 
Director of Ancient Coins 
9478 Olympic Blvd 
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 
Office: (310) 492-8615 
Cell: (818) 669-9548 
dmichaels@HA.com 


Annual Sales Exceeding $600 Million • 500,000+ Online Bidder-Members 
3500 Maple Avenue • Dallas, Texas 752191 • 800-872-6467 • HA.com “tlKI Inkjtw 

DALLAS | NEW YORK | BEVERLY HILLS | PARIS | GENEVA 


c AudmQalletm 


NYC Auctioneer licenses: Samuel Foose 0952360; Leo Frese 1094963; Michael J. Sadler 1304630; Andrea Voss 1320558. 
This auction subject to a 15% Buyer's Premium. 





THE HOBBY LEADER IN THE WORLD OF NUMISMATICS 


Krause publications 


MAGAZINES 

Our veteran editors bring you such respected 
publications as Numismatic News, World 
Coin News, Bank Note Reporter, Coins, and 
Coin Prices. 

BOOKS & CDs 

Our expert price analysts and renowned 
authors provide must-have reference books 
like the Standard Catalog line of world coin 
and paper money books, as well as Modern 
Commemorative Coins and North American 
Coins & Prices. Plus, we provide many of 
our references in CD format for you to use 
anywhere there is a computer. 


ONLINE 

NumisMaster.com is your site for the latest 
industry news, hot topics among collectors, 
popular coin columns, and online pricing for 
your coins. In addition, ShopNumisMaster.com 
is your one-stop shop for coin and paper 
money references, supplies, unique coins, 
and subscriptions to our family of magazines. 

SHOWS 

Our Chicago Paper Money Expo and Chicago 
International Coin Fair make Chicago a 
must-stop for dealers and collectors. 


ENJOY THE SHEKEL SPECIAL! 

Save 10% on hundreds of items at 
ShopNumisMaster.com and 10% off any 
online pricing package at NumisMaster.com. 
Use Promo Code SHEKEL1 1 


Krause Publications, 700 E. State St, lola, Wl 54990-0001 • 800-258-0929 • ShopNumisMaster.com 
*This offer is good thru 1 0/11/201 1 .